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Happy Birthday To Fairfield’s Christopher "Chris" Sarandon, Jr.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Happy Birthday To Fairfield’s Christopher "Chris" Sarandon, Jr.!

Christopher "Chris" Sarandon, Jr. turns 74 on Thursday.

Christopher "Chris" Sarandon, Jr. turns 74 on Thursday.

Christopher "Chris" Sarandon, Jr., who has owned a home in Fairfield, turns 72 on Thursday. The actor  was born July 24, 1942, in Beckley, W. Va.

Sarandon made his professional debut in The Rose Tattoo in 1965. In 1968, he moved to New York and landed his first television role as Dr. Tom Halverson on The Guiding Light (1969–1973).

He appeared in the primetime TV movies The Satan Murders (1974) and Thursday's Game before landing the role of Al Pacino's transsexual wife in Dog Day Afternoon (1975).

The performance earned Sarandon a Golden Globe nomination for Best New Male Star of the Year and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He appeared in The Rothschilds and The Two Gentlemen of Verona on Broadway, as well making regular appearances at numerous Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw festivals in the United States and Canada. Sarandon appeared in a series of television roles, some of which mirrored his affinity for the classics.

He also took roles in horror films opposite the late Margaux Hemingway in the thriller Lipstick (1976) and as a demon in the shocker The Sentinel (1977). Sarandon received accolades for his portrayal of Sydney Carton in a made for television version of A Tale of Two Cities (1980), co-starred with Dennis Hopper in The Osterman Weekend (1983), which was based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, and co-starred with Goldie Hawn in Protocol (1984).

He followed that with another mainstream success as the vampire-next-door in the teen horror film Fright Night (1985). Sarandon is best known in the film industry for his role as Prince Humperdinck in Rob Reiner's 1987 film The Princess Bride, though he also has had supporting parts in some other successful films, such as the original Child's Play (1988).

He also provided the voice of Jack Skellington, the main character in Tim Burton's animated Disney film The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Sarandon would later find work on television again with a recurring role as Dr. Burke on NBC's long-running medical drama ER. In 1991 he performed on Broadway in the short-lived musical Nick & Nora. In the 2000s he made guest appearances on quite a few TV series, notably as the Necromancer demon, Armand, in Charmed, and as Superior Court Judge Barry Krumble in six episodes of Judging Amy. He returned to Broadway in 2006 playing Signor Naccarelli in the six-time Tony award-winning Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center. Most recently he appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac as Antoine de Guiche, alongside Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner and Daniel Sunjata. He is on the Advisory Board for the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, W. Va.

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